It’s a structured document and process that gives external suppliers — agencies, designers, developers, photographers, printers — everything they need to work accurately and consistently with your brand from day one.
Brand identity files in the correct formats, usage rules for logo, colour and typography, tone of voice guidance, imagery and photography direction, dos and don’ts and a contact point for brand queries. The level of detail should reflect the nature and scope of the supplier’s work.
Full guidelines are comprehensive and cover the complete brand system. A partner briefing is tailored to the specific needs of a particular supplier or supplier type — focused, practical and easy to act on without requiring the supplier to read a 60-page document.
Shared cloud storage with controlled access — a branded portal, a shared folder or an online brand guidelines platform — is the most reliable approach. It ensures partners always have access to the latest approved versions.
The core brand information should be consistent, but the level of detail and which elements are most relevant will vary by supplier type. A print supplier needs different detail than a social media agency.
A formal partner briefing and sign-off process — where the partner confirms they’ve read and understood the guidelines before work begins — creates a clear point of accountability. Regular creative reviews against brand standards also help.
Whenever the brand changes significantly, all active partners should receive an updated briefing and fresh assets. This is often managed as part of a brand launch or rebrand rollout process.
Yes. A clear, concise partner briefing is particularly valuable for freelancers who don’t have the benefit of an agency’s institutional knowledge of your brand. It reduces revision cycles and improves output quality.
A formal approval process — where all brand-applied work is reviewed before it goes live or to print — catches these issues before they cause problems. The briefing sets expectations; the approval process enforces them.
The brand owner within your marketing function should own this. For businesses with many active suppliers, an online brand asset portal removes the burden of manual distribution and ensures partners are always working from the current version.